Combination corset and brassiere with interchangeable bust section



June 3, 1952 w. A. R. voN THADEN COMBINATION CORSET AND BRAssIERE WITH INTERCHANGEABLE BUST SECTION 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed NOV. 24. 1950 A w. A. R. voN THADEN COMBINATION CORSET AND BRASSIERE WITH INTERCHANGEABLE BUST SECTION June 3, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 24, 1950 June 3, 1952 w. A. R. voN THADEN COMBINATION CORSET AND BRASSIERE WITH l INTERCHANGEABLE BUST SECTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 24, 1950 Patented June 3, 1952 COMBINATION CORSET,y BRA-SSI WITH.. INTERCHANGEABLE SECTI Ni William-R. von Thaden,v Newark,

Application. November 24, 1950',` Serial No. 197,410

2v Claims. 14

Theinvention relates t,we 2;ring apparel" and in particular to foundation garments offthekind wherein a corset and avbrassi're areA integrally combined.

Prior to the present invention, the. advantages of such a `one-piece combination were outweighed by thedisadvantages for the reasonthat Women w-l'ic .may be fitted readilyv at the waist and' hips' by a corset of stand'ardsize still may diner greatly inbust measure from the brassire size which is a .part of' thev selected given standard size combinati'on garment. By reason oi' this it has' been necessaryin the past to produce a greater'variety ofl standard sizes in combination garmentsthan isA desirable from. the standpoint of inventory and economy. Retailers are most seriously aiiected because ofthe necessity' for maintaining, a large stock of the garments; and because: of the time consumed in. tting. customers.

It, therefore, is the primaryobject ofthe pres'- ent invention to provide a, combination corset and brassire garmentv whereinonly the side and back portions of the brassire elementof'the combination are integrally united with the corset element,v the. front. or bustA portion of the brassire being completely separableV from the: other por"- tions of the, brassire' and from the' corset. Due to this provisiomit now is practicable to produce the separateY brassire bust sections in aboutv three different sizes (determined entirely by the dimensions of the bust pockets?y for interchangeablek attachment to the integrin-tedv body' off any particular standard size combination garment of'a series which embraces the usualrun ofbodyV sizes exclusive of'bust measure; As a result; no increase in the' numberl of sizes* of integrated garment bodies is necessary,l nor is the increase in number'ofV bust sections objectionable, becausev they involvetheuseof a relatively sm'allfl amount of material and thus contribute a minor itemgas compared With the larger garment bodies with which they are to" bev associated; Furthermore, theV fittingk ofVIA customers ist greatly simplified and expedited".

A further object of the invention ist to` provide fastening means forthey separable bustsections Which-combine suitability for eiectifng-a close;- smootlr litL with capability ofvv speedy manipulatiene Otherf' objects. and advantages-'Wille appear as the? following specificfdescription islrread i'n connection with they accompanying drawings in which:

Eig. l is a-front elevation` ofthe completev feumiation;garment.` as yprovidede.- g.- WitlrY ase# Iected bust section ofsmall", A pocket-sizev and; employing the preferred fornfiofl fastening mearis by which it is. incorporated in the garment; Fig.y 2Lis a. rear, elevatienof tlfie'V same; Eig. 31is a side elevation-thereof; Fig.. 4' is. a side elevati-on there'- of', partly brokenaway, showing.r the bust section detached and' adjacent Vto its applied position; and Fig. 5L is a front e1evation,. partly broken away, vof the integrated body' of the garment' with the bust section removed.

Fig., 6, is a. frontv elevation, partly broken away',` of: the lgarment asr provided Witha. sel'eicted bust' section of medium, B pocket-size and employingA the preferredformof, fastening. meansby which itis incorporated in thegarment; Eglv 7 is a completesi'de` elevationV offV the same.; and Fig. 8. a' detail side..elei/ationA of the detached bust section alone..

Fig.v 9 is a. side. elevation, partly broken away, ofl a garment. asp-rovi'ded with a selected bust section of large, C` pocket-size-andemploying. the .preferred form of ,fastening means and Fig, 10' isa, similar front elevation oflt'he same..

Fig?. lllri's a:frontelevationoflthe complete gar,- ment,. showing modiedfasteningmeans by. which a bust'A section., of.v selected size. is incorporated therein; and Fig. 1'2Y is a similarv View, showing ar further. modication of fastening.. means` for attachingv a. bust section of se1ectedsize At'o the garment.

Similar charactersY of reference are. employed inthe above describedviews',r to indicate correspending, partscV Referringto the` drawings, the reference charaeter 2li indicates the prlneipalpart, oebody, of. the improved foundation garment,r which` comprises-` the integrated corset.` element `ZL and brassire element. 22.- It to be understoom thatfthe terincorset or corsetn element as usedherein refers-to all structure, below the .general waistline, and the` terms brassire or brassire element!"4 refers Vto structure above-V theY W'aistli'ne.l

Since nearly" all: the st.ructllralA details of the body zoi conform to usual corset making practica they will notbe described specica'll'y., The' iln-r provement consistsA primarily in elimination of the frontV ors-bustsection'-, wherclayV a substantially rec'tangu-lar1-gap;` 231 is' created theV front" part--Oi'bOdy Z, as shownparticularly inFig-s. and 51. This gap 23i extends upwardly fromI the waistl-ine to` opent throu'ghrthe'. t'op ofi brassire element' 22 and extends horizontally between?they seams@ '2m-24p ait the juncture.. ofYA fronte'I panels 25e-25-'amd1-1s-ide panelsy 2li-:26'V of the garment- ,3 body 28. The side margins of gap 23 are located well in advance of the axillary lines of the garment so that the fastening means provided to be coextensive therewith, and later herein described, will not interfere with comfortable arm movement.

For wearers convenience in putting the garment body on and taking it off, corset element 2| is divided along one of the seams 24-24, preferably at the wearers left side, as shown. The meeting edges of corset element 2| at this selected seam are detachably secured together by linear fastening means 2T, which preferably is of the spaced hook-and-eye type in order'to facilitate smooth, progressive confinement of the wearers figure from top to bottom of the said corset element.

In accordance with the invention, gap 23 in garment body 28 is to be closed by any selected one of a set of marginally matched, separate bust sections 28 of different bust-pocket sizes. Since it will be necessary to provide gaps 23 of different widths in garment bodies 29 of different sizes, it followsr that there must be a set of separate bust sections 28 of appropriate marginal dimensions to fit the gap 23 in each body of a particular size. This does not necessarily mean that, if a corset shop or other retail store has in stock a dozen garment bodies of a given size, there must be a dozen sets of bust sections. The number of sets for a given number of garment bodies of the same size is a matter of determination by practical sales experience over a considerable period of time.

As to the number of bust sections in each set, it has been quite definitely settled that there shall be at least three different sizes, Viz.: one section having bust pockets of small size designated in the corset industry as A size; one section having bust pockets of medium or B size and Aone section with larger or C size bust pockets. It is to be understood, however. that all such considerations of the number of and variations in, sizes are subject to selective variation within the scope of the invention.

VEach separate bust section 28 is of the general form shown in Figs. 1, 6, l0, 11 and 12 in front elevation and in Figs. 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9 in side, profile. structurally each bust section 28 ccmprises a front panel 29 and suitably positioned bust pockets 30 integral therewith. The entire bust section 28 is preferably composed of lace over a lining of strong fabric material to lend it strength and durability. Such composition of the bust section will afford a pleasing contrast with the usual plain body material of which the rest of the garment is made.

Figs. 1 to 10 disclose the preferred means for detachably fastening a selected bust section 28 in applied position across and in closing relation to gap 23 of a garment body 28. Along the horizontal line of juncture between the bottom margin of gap 23 and the lower edge of the front panel 29 of bust section 28, a slide-fastener unit of the separating type indicated at 3| is practicable and desirable, because of the normally relatively flat conformation of the wearers torso in the abdominal region.` Such type of slide-fastener unit permits complete separation of the meeting edges of bust section 28 and the corset element 2| of garment body 20 when the slide proper 32 `is moved into disengaging position (as shown in Figs. 4 and 5). Although slide-fasteners may be likewise used to secure the right and left side edges of bust section 28 to the corresponding side margins of gap 23 in garment body 20, it is preferred, at such sides, to use fastening means of the hook-and-eyc type, as at 33 and 34, for the same reason vthat the hook-and-eye fastener 21 is employed along the sub-waistline vertical division in corset element 2|. Hooks and eyes may be diverted in position from a straight line to better conform the garmet to body contours, but this cannot be done readily with slide-fastener means. If desired, the snap-fastener means 35 disclosed in Fig. 11 may be used instead of the hook-and-eye fastener means, but since it is much easier to change the location of hooks and eyes to meet changes in body size, which may occur during the useful life of a garment due to gain or loss of weight, than to re-locate snap fasteners, the hook-and-eye fastener means is preferable.

It will be observed in Fig. 11 that snap fasteners may also be used for the horizontal line of juncture instead Vof the slide-fastener unit 3|. This isv permissible but not so satisfactory as the use of slide-fastener means, due to the sacrifice of speed in manipulation.

Fig. l2 illustrates the alternative use of hook and-eye fastening means for all lines of juncture between the bust section 28 and the garment body 28, but it is much preferred to use the combination of hook-and-eye fastener means 33 and 34 and slide-fastener means' 3| shown in Figs. 1 to 10 because of the compromises between fitting eiiiciency and speed of manipulation which may be desirable at the different lines of juncture.

Economy of construction and facility of manipulation of the fastening means are further insured by location of the division line of corset element 2| and the corresponding side margin of gap 23 in brassire element 22 in substantial alignment. When this is done, the hook-and-eye tapes below the waistline should be separated from those above to allow for separation of bust section 28 from the corset element when the slide-fastener 3| has been released.

The fitting of a foundation garment, constructed in accordance with the invention, to a customer should be understood readily from reference to Fig. 4 in particular. From appropriate measurements of waist, hips, body length, etc., a trial size of garment body 20 will be selected and tried on the customer. After a iit of garment body has been obtained, the bust size is determined either by actual measurement or, in the casev of an experienced tter, may be gauged by visual observation.V A separate bust section 28 of proper bust pocket size is then tried on and, if proven to be correct, is fastened to the garment body 20 in closing relation to gap 23 by manipulation of the respective fastening means in the following order: first, close slidefastener3| and, second, hook up the sides. The fitting operation can be, therefore, accomplished with much greater accuracy and in less time than is possible withV respect to combination corset and brassire garments heretofore available on the market. y

To complete the foundation garmentI shoulder straps 36 may be added either to brassire element 22 of garment body 28, as shown in Fig. 4, or to bust section 28, as shown in Fig. 8, for use in affording support for the peaks of bust pockets 30 of the bust section when the garment is worn.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A foundation garment comprising a oney piece body composed of Ya corset element and a brassiere element whereinthe brassire element is provided with an upwardly open front portion to form a substantially rectangular gap extending upwardly approximately from the waistline of the corset element to the top edge of said brassire element, a bust supporting section of selected bust pocket size marginally dimensoned and shaped to mate with the margins of said gap, one side margin and the bottom margin of said gap and the corresponding mating margins of said bust supporting section having quickdetachable cooperable fastening means whereby to removably attach said section to the garment body within and across said gap, the garment body being divided from end to end along a substantially vertical line extending downwardly in alignment with the other side of the gap in the brassire element, and independent quick-detachable fastening means for closing said division of the garment.

2. A foundation garment according to claim 1, wherein the quick-detachable coopera-ble fastening means for the bottom margin of the bust supporting section and the mated margin of the gap n the brassire section is in the form of a 'slide fastener means so constructed and ar- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,312,459 Strocker Aug. 5, 1919 2,118,592 Davis May 24, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 704,755 France Feb. 24, 1931 

